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Lily&Me · 02-22-2018, 09:58 AM

Airstream has added screen doors, power shades, power awnings, power steps, power macerating systems, etc., etc., etc., all of which seem to cause a great deal of aggravation for many new owners...just as noted here on these forums.

The bells and whistles allow them to charge a great deal more, and may add appeal to some, but are they really necessary and worth all the problems that come with them?

I wish Airstream would focus on improving and insuring quality of the basics, insuring trouble-free leisure time, instead of adding fault-ridden mechanization.

There, I said it.

Maggie

Pahaska · 02-22-2018, 10:42 AM

My 2014.5 does not have screen doors or power shades. I could live with some screen door problems, considering the benefits, but I see no benefits in power shades. When I picked up my used rig, the tech told me how lucky I was to not have power shades.

I would like to see an improvement on the rat's net of wiring, as well as a better battery manager (i.e. Blue Seas ACR) and a better solar controller. Surely the cables could be better designed; I did this for years at IBM.

Mansderm161 · 03-27-2018, 08:22 PM

I have same problem and according to Airstream, i have the newer "problem free version." My day and night shade are stuck up. The motor runs but they won't come down. Also my closest Airstream dealer wont touch it, look at it or order parts because I did not buy it there. I bought it at dealership in Florida to get floorplan I wanted. I did not know that for any service I would have to use the original dealer. Not feeling very good about Airstream at this point and I havent even taken it out on a trip or camp out yet! Appreciate any feed back and advice.

Alex AVI · 03-27-2018, 10:52 PM

While I am not currently having any problems with my shades, my unit had a powershade issue from the time I looked at it at the dealership. I noticed the R/S passenger shade was missing when we were doing the sales negotiations. I was told "another unit" had a shade issue and that they needed a replacement asap. Really? If this was a true statement, they would cannibalize a perfectly good unit to fix another? What's wrong with just ordering it for the broken unit? It needed to be ordered either way. So my unit was waiting in the shop already for a broken shade even before I officially owned it.

To make things worse, after it was put back together, the plastic trim behind driver seat had multiple small gouge marks. Mentioned to delivery Tech, eventually made it up to Service Manager who said that was not done by his techs. Duh! Does it matter? I had not taken delivery yet, so I certainly didn't do it either. Why should I have to push harder to get it fixed before delivery? Upon my insistence, he ordered the trim piece, but I still am waiting for replacement.

Or, if their explanation of why my shade was removed was not true, then the true reason was I have already experienced (or more accurately, my AI) it's 1st shade problem. Does not give me confidence. But all is working for now. Keeping fingers crossed and closely monitoring this thread.

FlyFishinRVr · 03-28-2018, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

I have same problem and according to Airstream, i have the newer "problem free version." My day and night shade are stuck up. The motor runs but they won't come down. Also my closest Airstream dealer wont touch it, look at it or order parts because I did not buy it there. I bought it at dealership in Florida to get floorplan I wanted. I did not know that for any service I would have to use the original dealer. Not feeling very good about Airstream at this point and I havent even taken it out on a trip or camp out yet! Appreciate any feed back and advice.

Find the nearest “5 rivet“ dealer and schedule an appointment with them.

The guy who used to be VP of Sales at AS (Justin Humphreys) is now the COO and he recently put a program in place where 5 rivet dealers actually make more $$$ on warranty repairs on vehicles NOT bought at that dealership to encourage them to service customers like you and avoid the issue you are having.

When more dealers lose business to these 5 rivet guys maybe they’ll change their [emoji90] “you didn’t buy it here so go away” policy..... 🤨

wachuko · 03-28-2018, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyFishinRVr

Find the nearest “5 rivet“ dealer and schedule an appointment with them.

The guy who used to be VP of Sales at AS (Justin Humphreys) is now the COO and he recently put a program in place where 5 rivet dealers actually make more $$$ on warranty repairs on vehicles NOT bought at that dealership to encourage them to service customers like you and avoid the issue you are having.

When more dealers lose business to these 5 rivet guys maybe they’ll change their [emoji90] “you didn’t buy it here so go away” policy..... ��

^^ Saw a video the other day on this... that topic is discussed at 10:00... but I found the video to provide some good information on other topics...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdN9ms-gscs

From that video, you will see a link:

https://www.gadgetguru.com/airstream/

In the video they mentioned one coming up in Florida (I believe that is the Tampa dealer where I got mine).

Quote:

The current Airstream Five Rivet Dealers are :

Colonial Airstream – Lakewood, NJ
Ewald’s Airstream of Wisconsin – Franklin, WI
Airstream of Virginia – Thornburg, VA
Schumacher European – Phoenix, AZ
Airstream Adventures Northwest Idaho – Caldwell, ID
Airstream Lazydays – Tucson, AZ
Bay Area Airstream Adventures – Fairfield, CA
Haydocy Airstream & RV – Columbus, OH
Airstream of North Georgia – Norcross, GA
Airstream of Scottsdale – Scottsdale, AZ
Airstream of New Mexico – Albuquerque, NM
Sutton RV – Eugene, OR
Airstream of Spokane – Spokane, WA
Airstream of Tennessee – Louisville, TN
Airstream of Chicago – Naperville, IL
Sky River RV – Paso Robles, CA
Windish RV Center – Lakewood, CO
RBM of Alpharetta – Alpharetta, GA
Prime Airstream – Scarborough, ME

FlyFishinRVr · 03-28-2018, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wachuko

In the video they mentioned one coming up in Florida (I believe that is the Tampa dealer where I got mine).

Given @mansderm161 is in Myrtle Beach SC, I think his best bet will be north to Virginia or west/sw to Georgia. Both look to be about a 5-6hr drive. Not ideal, but he could make a sightseeing trip out of it....

Mansderm161 · 03-28-2018, 05:13 PM

Thanks so much, I bought mine at RV ONE in Orlando...they have dealership in Tampa too. I'll most likely head to the Columbus Ohio one sine my son lives there too. Thanks again, very helpful

FlyFishinRVr · 03-28-2018, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

Thanks so much, I bought mine at RV ONE in Orlando...they have dealership in Tampa too. I'll most likely head to the Columbus Ohio one sine my son lives there too. Thanks again, very helpful

Best luck.

Please report back how it works out for you.

Preligen · 03-28-2018, 08:23 PM

I just bought a 2018 Interstate and I have problems with the night shades also. One is stuck open two doesn't go up all the way. The nearest Airstream dealer id's still brand new and hasn't opened their service center yet. They won't open until June. So I have no choice but to wait.

Alex AVI · 03-28-2018, 09:09 PM

FLYFISHINRVR & WACHUKO - Thanks for this 5 Rivet tip & dealer list. A few of those are only few hrs. from me if I ever have issues with my local (they've only been open <1yr & may still be going through growing pains). AZ. CA, NM are all only 4-6hrs and I go the all the time anyways.

FlyFishinRVr · 03-28-2018, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Preligen

I just bought a 2018 Interstate and I have problems with the night shades also. One is stuck open two doesn't go up all the way. The nearest Airstream dealer id's still brand new and hasn't opened their service center yet. They won't open until June. So I have no choice but to wait.

I see you're in Sunnyvale. Give Bay Area Airstream Adventures in Fairfield a call. They should be able to get you sorted.

tlundell · 03-28-2018, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Preligen

I just bought a 2018 Interstate and I have problems with the night shades also. One is stuck open two doesn't go up all the way. The nearest Airstream dealer id's still brand new and hasn't opened their service center yet. They won't open until June. So I have no choice but to wait.

If you are referring to the South Bay Airstream in San Martin, their service department is indeed operating and recently did a fine job on repairing my rear motorized screen. Plus there was no delay in getting service. The Fairfield dealer is owned by the same outfit and has a much bigger (but overworked) service department

FlStrmr · 03-30-2018, 06:38 AM

I'll wrap up my saga on this power shade problem in my original post. My dealer's original attempt to solve my problem was to order a replacement shade motor from Airstream (My 2018 AI i still under warranty). It took about 6 weeks to get the motor and after the tech installed it, it didn't work..faulty motor. Another call to Airstream..they cannot send another motor until mid-April when they receive them from their supplier (I couldn't get an answer to why they couldn't pull a motor off their assembly line). To the dealer's credit, his ultimate solution was to take a shade assembly off another new AI on the lot and install it in mine. Kudos to my dealer; not so much to Airstream.

Brownstone · 03-31-2018, 09:39 AM

Interesting post to see that AS would not send you a motor off the production line. One must wonder about the management system. They have a problem with these shades, and refuse to step up to the plate for the customer. One would think they would order a supply of these motors, knowing they have sold a faulty product, at least to allow the AI owner to get a repair done promptly.

Excellent companies would be aware of this problem, and take measure to fix it. I would not buy another Interstate. I am heading off tomorrow on a seven day trip to Santa Fe, with my "repaired shades" - I will open and close them individually, and carefully. Perhaps I will feel more confident when I return. My 2018 AI cost about $205,000 in Canadian dollar terms. One should be fully satisfied with the unit. Crazy that window shades can be such a downer, particularity when they make the repair a headache to remedy.

If you had any problem with the Mercedes Sprinter, you can be sure that a Mercedes dealer could fix the problem rapidly. Airstream needs a customer attitude adjustment.

FlyFishinRVr · 03-31-2018, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brownstone

Interesting post to see that AS would not send you a motor off the production line. One must wonder about the management system.

There's no way they would hold up production over this, and pulling parts off the production line for a warranty repair would do exactly that, especially if their supplier is the reason why it's taking dealers so long to get replacements (i.e. they can't keep up with demand). Not saying that's right or wrong, just saying that I don't know of anyone who would do this, regardless of the industry (RV, auto, tech, etc).

Having said that, AS corporate should, by now, know that these shades are a recurring problem. One forum member here even commented that AS had a "brainstorming session" on how to fix it, so they are obviously aware of it. We know AS has hired someone to monitor this and other forums, so let's hope they provide feedback to corporate that this issue has gone beyond a minor annoyance and they need to put a process in place to address it, and communicate that process to effected owners (TSB with dealers/service centers to implement whatever came out of their "how do we fix it" session, set aside a supply of shades, motors, etc. to quickly respond to warranty claims, etc.).

jtmac · 05-05-2018, 07:39 AM

After following this thread with interests but not having any issues with my shade I wondered if it was just matter of time.......and it was! On the way home from Florida, the passenger rear night shade stopped working luckily in the down position so we can still sleep without others looking in. I own a 2016, 1 year old with 6,000 miles. The day I picked up my coach new from the dealer they had to fix the rear door shades which took them over 2 hours to get them to work but could not adjust the tension so when the shades go down they kink up.

I really want to just switch these out to the manual pull down type. The 2 areas I'm concerned about are the shades and the macerator. I've learned on my last 8 coaches that eventually the valves fail on the dump tanks leaving you with a real headache.....I would prefer that airstream doesn't offer the "bells and whistles" unless they have a redundant system to operate manually (and easily).

Has anyone swapped out the window shades with manual one's. My dealer is 4 hours away and a real pain to get repairs done.

InterBlog · 05-05-2018, 01:15 PM

For the bump, my mind is remembering that someone replaced their shades. But there are 276 posts with the word 'shades' in them, and I can't remember the thread, the context, or the poster.

tlcoftc · 05-07-2018, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirstreamInc

Hi FlStrmr,

We're sorry to learn about the power shade issue you described in your 2018 Interstate Grand Tour Ext. Please call our customer service and technical support team at*1 (877) 596-6111, option 2 so we can learn more and help.

Thanks.

Every time we go on a trip with our 2016 we have to have our shades fixed upon return. I am so careful with them and make sure when we stop
That they are seeded I. The track since they bounce out during travel. It’s ridiculous. I am tempted to yank them out and have manual blinds installed.

InterBlog · 05-08-2018, 07:24 AM

Just FYI, I'm getting bombarded with ads for the new Airstream Nest, so I took a look at what kind of window treatments they are built with.

Airstream wisely avoided power window treatments. The dinette / bed portion appears to be double-tracked fabric drapery. Manual. Curved walls - I doubt that they had any other choice. The front portion appears to be the very same manual accordion shades, right down to the color, that we have in our 11-year-old Interstate. The only visible difference is that they put two pull knobs on each bottom rail. Ours don't have that feature - we have to just grab the bottom rail itself (which is not a problem). I suspect that the knobs were added as a reminder for people to use two hands. The blinds are very wide and are not supposed to be one-handed.

I've been very pleased with those accordion blinds, 11 years old now and not one breakage (yet). Some people don't find them to be to their style taste, but I love them. The fact that Airstream is still using them is encouraging to people who might want to switch to a manual product. That system is still being made, which means it should be available somewhere in the consumer market.